Sting (wrestler)

Steve Borden
File:Steve Borden Sting.jpg
Born	March 20, 1959 Omaha, Nebraska
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Sting Blade Runner Flash Flash Flash Borden Steve Borden
Billed height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Billed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Billed from	Venice Beach, California
Trained by	Bill Anderson Red Bastien Rick Bassman Terry Funk Sr
Debut	November 28, 1985

Steven James Borden (born March 20, 1959), better known by his ring name, Sting, is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is arguably the most well-known wrestler of the modern era to have never worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Wrestling career

Borden was recruited as the fourth member of Powerteam USA, a professional wrestling stable headed by Red Bastien and Rick Bassman and containing Borden and three other former bodybuilders. Borden trained under Bill Anderson as well as Bastien and Bassman for 10 weeks and debuted in November 1985 as Flash Borden.

Universal Wrestling Federation (1986-1987)

Power Team USA disbanded in 1986, and two of the members, Borden and Jim "Justice" Hellwig (later Ultimate Warrior), formed a tag team known as the Blade Runners. Borden changed his name initially from Flash to Sting while Hellwig became Rock. The Blade Runners wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation based in Shreveport until Rock left the promotion in mid-1986. Left without a partner, Borden joined Hotstuff and Hyatt International, a stable headed by Eddie Gilbert and Missy Hyatt. He won the UWF Tag Team Championship twice with Gilbert in 1986, and a third time with Rick Steiner in 1987. Initially a heel wrestler, Sting turned babyface following a match against Terry Taylor in mid-1987, where former manager Gilbert interfered on Taylor's behalf, costing Sting the match. Following a two-on-one gangup, Gentleman Chris Adams cleared the ring and became instrumental in Sting's face turn when Adams asked if Sting was with him or against him in his feud with Taylor and Gilbert.

Jim Crockett Promotions/NWA (1987-1989)

In late 1987, the Universal Wrestling Federation was purchased by Jim Crockett Promotions. Quickly rising through the ranks, Sting began a lengthy feud with then-NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair in 1988, with he and Flair wrestling one another to a 45-minute time limit draw at the inaugural Clash of Champions. Sting lost to Flair in several untelevised rematches following the Clash and later that year got more involved in tag team matches against other members of the Four Horsemen and also challenging Barry Windham for the United States Championship. It was Sting whom the Road Warriors attacked in a televised six-man match in order to punctuate their heel turn As 1988 ended, Sting teamed up with Dusty Rhodes (who was also brutally attacked by the Legion of Doom) at Starrcade '88 and defeated The Road Warriors by disqualification.

Sting then returned to singles matches in 1989, starting the year off on New Year's Day wrestling Ric Flair to a one hour draw in Atlanta's Omni. After a long push, he finally won his first title in the NWA when he defeated Mike Rotunda for the NWA Television Championship. He defended the TV Championship actively but tended to face sub-par challengers. Sting eventually lost the championship to The Great Muta in one of the year's greatest feuds. Sting and Muta met on July 23 at the Great American Bash with Sting getting the win by pinfall but a replay showed Muta's shoulder was up at the count of two and the NWA decided to declare the title vacant. Sting and Muta battled in many rematches but they would always end in disqualification giving neither man the championship. Eventually Muta won a no disqualification match against Sting to win the title after using a blackjack foreign object to get the win.

On the July 23 card where Sting and Muta faced each other the first time, Ric Flair faced Terry Funk in the main event and Flair was attacked by Muta after the match. Sting came to Flair's rescue which was an amazing surprise to fans given the history between Sting and Flair as fierce rivals the prior year. Sting and Flair feuded with Funk and Muta for the rest of the year in one of the NWA's most memorable feuds, culminating in a Thunderdome Cage Match between the two alliances. When Flair re-formed the Four Horsemen in late 1989, Sting was quick to join Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and Flair.

Sting finished out the year winning the four-man round robin tournament at Starrcade 1989 that was the focus of the event. The night ended when he defeated Flair in the final match to accumlate the necessary amount of points needed to win. It would also make Sting the number one contender for Flair's NWA World Title, which would be the catalyst for the events that immediately followed.

World Championship Wrestling (1989-2001)

Sting was thrown out of the Four Horsemen on February 6, 1990 at Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout after refusing to relinquish an upcoming title shot at Flair, thus restarting their rivalry. Later that evening, Sting suffered a legitimate knee injury while interfering in a steel cage match featuring the Four Horsemen. Sting's injury forced WCW bookers to find a new opponent for Flair for the forthcoming Wrestle War pay-per-view. Sting was eventually replaced by Lex Luger, who unsuccessfully challenged Flair for the title in a series of matches while Sting recuperated. Sting would play a part in the finish of the match at WrestleWar, as Luger relenquished his chance to win the title in favor of helping Sting at ringside, who was in great peril at the hands of the other Horsemen.

Upon his return, Sting and his allies, the Dudes With Attitudes, continued to feud with the Four Horsemen, and Sting finally defeated Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on July 7, 1990 at the 1990 Great American Bash. He went on to feud with title contenders Flair and Sid Vicious. Vicious appeared to defeat Sting in a title match at Halloween Havoc 1990, but the "Sting" who he pinned was revealed to be an impostor, played by Horseman Barry Windham. The real Sting appeared soon after and pinned Vicious to retain his title when the match was restarted. His reign ended on January 11, 1991 when he was defeated by Flair. In the same month, WCW seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance, in the process recognizing a WCW World Heavyweight Championship and a WCW World Tag Team Championship. Sting then feuded with Nikita Koloff in the summer of 1991 and took part in what many consider to be one of the best matches of 1991, teaming with Lex Luger to face The Steiner Brothers at the first SuperBrawl pay-per-view. That match had also triggered the feud with Koloff when he took a chain-shot intended for his partner Luger (who had been feuding with Koloff at the time). In August of 1991, Sting defeated Steve Austin to win the WCW U.S. title.

At the end of 1991, Sting became embroiled in a feud with the Dangerous Alliance, headed by manager Paul E. Dangerously. The stable targeted Sting because he was the so-called "franchise" of WCW, and vowed to destroy both him and the promotion that he was the face of, although he was also being targeted by Luger, who had once again turned heel and as WCW Champion viewed Sting as a threat. Sting engaged in many memorable matches with Dangerous Alliance members, especially "Ravishing" Rick Rude, who was the group's main star. It was during this feud that he won the first of his six WCW World Heavyweight titles, defeating Lex Luger at SuperBrawl II on February 29, 1992. The feud ended when Sting and his allies, named Sting's Squadron (consisting of himself, Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, and Nikita Koloff) defeated the Alliance (Rude, Austin, Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko, and Bobby Eaton) in a brutal War Games match at Wrestle War in May 1992.

Near the end of Sting's battles with the Dangerous Alliance, the seeds were sown for what would arguably come to be one of the most famous feuds of his career. In April 1992, he defended his WCW World title at The Omni in Atlanta against a 450-pound bull of a wrestler named Big Van Vader. During the match, Vader splashed Sting, cracking three of his ribs. Sting recovered and defended his title against Vader at The Great American Bash in July, dropping the belt to him after missing a Stinger Splash (hitting his head on the ringpost in the process), and receiving a powerbomb. After beating Cactus Jack in a falls-count-anywhere match at Beach Blast and WCW newcomer Jake Roberts in a "Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal" match at Halloween Havoc, Sting again faced Vader in the "King of Cable" tournament final at Starrcade. Once again, Sting endured a harsh beating, but this time emerged victorious.

The Sting-Vader feud continued into 1993, with Vader defeating Sting in a bloody strap match at SuperBrawl III. Sting exacted revenge by beating Vader for the World title on March 11 in London, England, but lost it back to him six days later in Dublin, Ireland. Sting then teamed up with newcomer Davey Boy Smith to beat the team of Vader and Sid Vicious at Bash At The Beach, a match that was set up by an infamous mini-movie that saw an evil midget blow up Sting's boat. At the end of the year, Sting was one of the first people to congratulate the newly-returned Ric Flair after his title victory over Vader at Starrcade.

Sting would feud with Vader and Rude through the first half of 1994, defeating Vader in a match for the vacant NWA World title (referred to as the WCW International World title) at Slamboree after Rude was forced to vacate due to his suffering a career-ending injury against Sting in Japan. Soon afterwards, Flair turned heel and defeated Sting in a title unification match at Clash of the Champions XXVII. Sting would spend the second half of '94 and most of 1995 teaming with new arrival Hulk Hogan in his battles against the Three Faces of Fear and later against the Dungeon of Doom.

In October 1995, Flair convinced Sting to team with him in a tag match against Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman at Halloween Havoc, as Anderson and Pillman had attacked Flair earlier in the night. Flair was unable to come out for the first part of the match and Sting fended off both Anderson and Pillman alone. Finally, Flair came out, but eventually turned on Sting and reformed the Four Horsemen with Anderson, Pillman, and later Chris Benoit. Sting would close out 1995 by feuding with the Horsemen. His alliances with Hogan and Randy Savage led the Horsemen to attack them as well.

The first part of 1996 had Sting teaming with Lex Luger (who had returned to WCW in September of '95) to win the WCW World Tag Team titles from Harlem Heat. The reign would be highlighted by the babyface Sting usually oblivious to the cheating tactics of Luger (a tweener) which became the means by which they usually retained the titles. When Luger became temporarily unavailable in March of '96, Harlem Heat member Booker T teamed up with Sting on one memorable occasion to successfully prevent the titles from changing hands. A rematch between Harlem Heat and the team of Luger & Sting then came the following night, in which a mutual respect was displayed between Sting and Booker T. Harlem Heat eventually won the titles back on the June 24, 1996 edition of WCW Monday Nitro.

Sting also received a World title shot against The Giant at Slamboree, but lost after accidental interference from Luger.

In the summer of 1996, Sting was the first to stand up to two "invaders" from "Up North" known as "The Outsiders" (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall). They would have a match at Bash at the Beach 1996 with Sting being joined by Randy Savage and Lex Luger. The Outsiders announced they would have a 3rd man in their corner as well. In the opening minutes of the bout, Hall and Nash's partner was nowhere to be seen, but the WCW contingent's 2 on 3 advantage was short lived as Luger had to leave the match early due to an injury. Sting and Savage fought against Nash and Hall until the arrival of Hulk Hogan, who teased at coming out to back up the WCW wrestlers until he attacked Savage with his Leg Drop finisher. The three subsequently formed the nWo at the end of the match, which was ruled a no-contest.

File:Sting(wrestler).jpg

Sting in a 1999 CNN show about wrestling

The nWo introduced an imposter Sting (played by Jeff Farmer), which led the crowd to believe that Sting had turned his back on WCW during a WarGames match at Fall Brawl 1996. When the real Sting returned he was upset by the fact that many wrestlers believed that he had in fact betrayed WCW despite his denials, that he himself felt betrayed, and so he left WCW by declaring himself a "free agent". His last words on camera for 18 months, was in response to a question leveled to him about joining the nWo. His response: "The only thing that's for sure is nothing's for sure.". However, at certain events, he appeared mysteriously in the rafters; his new silent persona, complete with corpse paint and longer hair replacing his then-trademark spiked haircut, was quite obviously inspired by The Crow. He was joined in the rafters on a few occasions by Randy Savage, but Savage eventually joined the nWo. He also began using a baseball bat as his signature weapon. The nWo, in turn, began to paint Farmer's face in the same fashion to try to continue the confusion, becoming known as nWo Sting. While appearing on a WCW/nWo merchandise special on QVC Sports in late 1999 and recovering from his match at Halloween Havoc 1998, Sting admitted that Scott Hall initially suggested the idea of painting his face like The Crow. Sting continued to use the facepaint up until recently.

In what was apparently an odd means of testing loyalty, Sting would at first appear before certain WCW wrestlers in the ring and shove them a few times with his bat until they were provoked enough to advance on him, at which point he would draw the weapon back into a more threatening stance, causing them to stop. He would then hand the bat to the offended wrestler and turn his back, offering them a chance at retaliation. When the wrestler declined after a moment's pause, Sting would nod, retrieve the bat, and leave the ring. In more memorable developments, he would, in later weeks, begin coming to the aid of many of these wrestlers (often at the end of a television taping) during group battles with the nWo.

In one of the most memorable occurrences in WCW history, Sting finally, after nearly six months of uncertainty and mystery, showed his true colors as a face by single-handedly taking out the entire nWo at Uncensored '97 in March. The pay-per-view had drawn to a close and the nWo were celebrating with their new found partner, NBA star Dennis Rodman, when Sting, making a then-unprecedented and shocking appearance, rappelled down over 70 feet from the roof of the arena via zipline and began his historic battle against the nWo in which he ended up giving the Scorpion Death Drop to the principal members of the nWo: The Outsiders, Randy Savage, and WCW World Champion Hollywood Hogan. After this attack, he would frequently rappel from the rafters or even come up through the ring to attack unsuspecting nWo members and employ decoy Stings to play mind games during the closing segments of WCW Monday Nitro. Sting's appearances to fight the nWo at the end of almost every WCW Monday Nitro helped to keep and widen the ratings gap between WCW and the WWE throughout the summer. On-screen commissioner J.J. Dillon would try many times to get Sting to return to wrestling by making contracts to fight various nWo members, but Sting would end up tearing up the contracts because there was only one man he wanted: Hulk Hogan.

At the end of Clash of the Champions XXXV on August 21, 1997, the arena lights went out and back on again. Sting appeared in the rafters, holding on his shoulder a turkey vulture, a symbol of death. The following message was spoken by a child to the nWo - who had all, except Hogan, gathered in the ring to celebrate a year of existence:

When a man's heart is full of deceit it burns up, dies, and a dark shadow falls over his soul.

From the ashes of a once great man has risen a curse, a wrong that must be righted.

We look to the skies for a vindicator, someone to strike fear into the black heart of the same man who created him.

The battle between good and evil has begun.

Against an army of shadows comes the Dark Warrior, the purveyor of good, with a voice of silence, and a mission of justice...

This is Sting.

Afterwards, the lights went off, and when they came back on, the turkey vulture he was holding was sitting on the top ring rope. After this occurred, Commissioner JJ Dillon guaranteed that Sting would face Hogan before the year (1997) ended.

In what has been widely regarded as the biggest match in WCW history Sting made his long awaited return to the ring to challenge "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1997 for the WCW World Championship, winning controversially due to a decision by special guest referee Bret Hart when he reversed the decision made by referee Nick Patrick after Hogan pinned Sting after what he believed to be a "fast count". The match was restarted and Sting made Hogan submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. It was heavily rumored that Sting was supposed to get a "clean" victory in the match, but in the days leading up to the match, Hogan, invoking his "creative control" clause in his contract, would change his stance on the outcome from a "clean" finish to a finish that didn't weaken his character to defeating Sting. The compromise ended up being the controversial ending of the match. The next night on WCW Monday Nitro, Hogan would protest the decision which led to a rematch. The rematch would meet with the same result and later in the week on the inaugural episode of WCW Thunder, on-camera commissioner J.J. Dillon held the title up and forced Sting to surrender the belt. It was during this situation that Sting would say his first words on camera in a year and a half. Upon handing over the belt, he would tell Dillon, "You've got no guts!" and then turned to Hogan and said, "And you....You're a dead man!". Sting would eventually re-take the title with help from Randy "Macho Man" Savage at SuperBrawl VIII. He later lost the title to Savage at Spring Stampede in April 1998, due to interference from Kevin Nash.

Later in 1998, nWo split up owing to differences between Hogan and Nash. Nash formed the tweener group known as the nWo Wolfpac. Months later, debate arose as to whether Sting would join one of the factions. Sting made an entrance, sporting the black & white shirt, only to reveal his true stance with the Wolfpac. Soon after, he would change his white face paint to red as well as his ring attire accordingly. Sting would go on to win the tag titles as part of Nash's stable. When the nWo recombined and went fully heel again after the Fingerpoke of Doom incident in 1999, Sting left the stable and went out on his own once more.

In 1999, Sting once again won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on WCW Monday Nitro in the 1st match of the second hour of the show against Diamond Dallas Page, but lost it back to him only a little over an hour and a half later in the Main Event in a four-way match set up by Kevin Nash (the 4th participant was Bill Goldberg). Page pinned Nash, allowing him to win the title without beating the champion. This unsuccessful title defense would be the shortest title reign in WCW history. Sting teased turning heel by first attacking Hulk Hogan (who had once again become a babyface at this point) at Fall Brawl, hitting Hogan with his baseball bat several times en route to regaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Sting's heel turn and subsequent attitude change did not go over well with the fans. They still cheered him despite the fact that he was supposed to be the bad guy. He retained against Hogan at Halloween Havoc after Hogan arrived to the ring in street clothes and merely laid down for a 3-count, but promptly lost an unsanctioned defense to Bill Goldberg at the end of the night. Sting was stripped shortly thereafter (due to an attack on referee Charles Robinson), and returned to facedom. He was given the opportunity to regain the title in a tournament, but lost to Bret Hart in the semi-finals. He then began a feud with former partner Luger.

In 2000, Sting had an intense feud with the newcomer Vampiro. Vampiro would set him alight in a "Human Torch Match" (in actuality, it was a stuntman), but came back to even the score with Vampiro. He was "injured" by Scott Steiner in 2000, leaving WCW TV for good. However, he would return for the last episode of WCW Monday Nitro, on March 26, 2001 and defeat his long time rival Ric Flair, embracing in a sportsmanlike fashion at the end of the contest. It would be the very last WCW match ever.

World Wrestling All-Stars (2002-2003)

Sting returned to professional wrestling in late-2002, touring Europe with the World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) throughout November and December. His first match with the WWA was on November 28, 2002 in Dublin, Ireland, and saw Sting team with Lex Luger to defeat Buff Bagwell and Malice. On December 6, 2002 in Glasgow, Scotland, Luger defeated Sting in a match for the vacant WWA World Heavyweight Championship following interference from Jeff Jarrett. On December 13, 2002 in Zürich, Switzerland, Sting defeated Luger to become the WWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Sting toured Australia with the WWA in May 2003. On May 21, 2003 he successfully defended the WWA World Heavyweight Championship against Rick Steiner and Shane Douglas in Sydney, Australia, and on May 23, 2003 in Melboure, Australia he retained the title in a match with Disco Inferno, despite interference from Chris Sabin and Konnan. On the last ever WWA show, on May 25, 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand, Sting lost the WWA World Heavyweight Championship to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett in a championship unification bout following interference on Jarrett's behalf by Rick Steiner. This last show aired on pay-per-view in the United States on June 8, 2003.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003-2004, 2006-present)

File:Sting book.jpg

Moment of Truth

In 2003, Sting signed a contract committing him to four appearances with the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion. He debuted in TNA on the June 18, 2003 one year anniversary show, teaming with Jeff Jarrett to defeat A.J. Styles and Syxx Pac. Following this, Sting engaged in a comprehensive series of sitdown interviews with Mike Tenay, discussing his career and his faith.

Sting returned to TNA on November 5, 2003, defeating Jarrett by disqualification in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. On November 12, 2003, Sting teamed with A.J. Styles to defeat Jarrett and Lex Luger. He made his final TNA appearance of 2003 on December 17, 2003 defeating Jarrett in a non-title match.

On March 24, 2004, Sting was interviewed once again by Mike Tenay as part of the promotion for his direct-to-video biographical film, "Sting: Moment of Truth" and on March 31 he returned to the company one night only as the special guest enforcer for the main-event, a 4 Way match between Abyss, A.J. Styles, Raven and Ron Killings, which was won by Raven.

After turning down a WWE contract, at TNA Turning Point 2005 on December 11, 2005, as Jeff Jarrett stood in the ring celebrating a victory, the lights in the arena went out. Images of a scorpion — Sting's symbol — then appeared on the arena screens, along with the date "January 15, 2006". Spotlights then illuminated the ring, revealing that a chair bearing Sting's signature trench coat, boots and black baseball bat had been placed in the center of the ring. His return to TNA was officially announced one minute after midnight on the January 1, 2006 episode of iMPACT!.

At TNA Final Resolution 2006, Sting and Christian Cage defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett and Monty Brown after Sting pinned Jeff Jarrett following the Scorpion Death Drop. His heavily promoted return was greeted with chants of "welcome back" and "you've still got it" by the Orlando, Florida audience. TNA later revealed that Final Resolution was "by far the most-purchased TNA Pay-Per-View event in company history, breaking all previous numbers."

On the January 28, 2006 episode of TNA iMPACT!, Sting made his Spike TV debut and first appearance on national television in almost five years, coming to the ring at the end of the show to make a "major announcement". Sting noted that he had never had a chance to properly say goodbye to his fans. He then announced that Final Resolution 2006 had been "his goodbye", before thanking the TNA management and the fans. Sting then dropped his bat, with a spotlight appearing over it, and left the ring, shaking hands with various TNA wrestlers on his way up the ramp.

With Sting gone, the storyline continued with Jeff Jarrett and Eric Young worrying that Sting had not actually retired, and sending Alex Shelley to California to videotape Sting at home. Sting discovered Shelley filming, then walked up to Shelley's car and told him that he was going to show up at Destination X 2006, and confront Jeff Jarrett as "Steve Borden". Clad in "street clothes" and without facepaint Borden returned at Destination X, saving Christian Cage and Rhino as they were attacked by Jarrett's Army. He placed Jarrett in the Scorpion Deathlock, but was attacked by the debuting Scott Steiner shortly thereafter.

In his first cable television match in five years, Sting defeated Eric Young on the April 13, 2006 episode of iMPACT!. After being attacked by Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted, Sting was saved by A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino, who he announced as his teammates in his Lethal Lockdown match with Jarrett's Army. At TNA Lockdown 2006, Sting, A.J. Styles, Ron Killings, and Rhino (billed as "Sting's Warriors") defeated Jarrett, Steiner, and America's Most Wanted after Chris Harris tapped out to the Scorpion Death Lock.

Following Lockdown, Sting proceeded to seek out partners to help him defeat Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner for good. After bringing out Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Rick Steiner as options, he settled on Samoa Joe. At TNA Sacrifice 2006, Sting and Samoa Joe defeated Jarrett and Steiner when Joe pinned Jarrett with a Muscle Buster.

Still having proven unsuccessful at putting Jarrett away, Sting defeated Scott Steiner by disqualification to earn as spot in the King of the Mountain match at TNA Slammiversary. Due to a confrontation with Christian Cage during the match, Sting was distracted, allowing crooked referee Earl Hebner to knock over the ladder both were on, sending both to the floor and allowing Jarrett to win.

At Victory Road 2006 in July, a 4 man Number 1 Contender's match was held for a shot at Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt. During the match, Jeff Jarrett, disguised as a cameraman came into the ring with a bottle of gasoline and squirt it into Sting's eyes. Sting was taken by security into the back and as a result, taken out of the running for the Number 1 Contender's match. As the match continued as a 3-man contest, Sting returned to the ring with his head wrapped in bandages. After performing the Scorpion Death Drop on Scott Steiner, Sting pinned Steiner and won the Number 1 Contender's match. After a confrontation with Christian Cage in the ring right after the match. They both shook hands and Cage showed his respect for Sting.

On August 13, 2006 at Hard Justice 2006, Sting failed to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship losing to Jeff Jarrett after Christian Cage turned heel and hit Sting with Jarrett's guitar.

On the August 17, 2006 edition of TNA iMPACT!, Sting stated that he wanted a rematch with Jeff Jarrett at Bound for Glory 2006. Jarrett accepted the match, with the implication that Sting put his career on the line, a stipulation Sting would accept. Sting then retreated to train for what could have been his final match, meanwhile iMPACT! began showing videos of Sting going through a so called transformation with many biblical references.

On October 22, 2006, in a Title vs Career Match at the Bound for Glory PPV, Sting returned debuting his new look, a hybrid of his surfer, crow, and nWo Wolfpac styles, looking physically a lot leaner. He went on to claim his third NWA Heavyweight Title when Jarrett submitted to the Scorpion Deathlock marking the first major championship title Sting had won since the 1990s. With that victory, Sting became the oldest NWA World Heavyweight Champion of the TNA Era. This hybrid consists of his Crow facepaint, red-painted cheeks, and his old pre-Crow sportscoat too.

He lost the title to "The Monster" Abyss at TNA Genesis 2006 by DQ after pushing aside the referee and pushing Abyss into a stack of tables covered in barbed wire (under TNA rules, titles can change hands on a DQ).

In the weeks following Genesis, Sting's feud with Abyss continued as he tried to get in Abyss' head by telling him he was being used by his satanic manager James Mitchell. Abyss was visibly affected by this, but remained by Mitchell's side. Sting's former friend Christian Cage and his bodyguard Tomko were also thrown in the mix, with Cage claiming he knew a dark secret in Abyss' past. The three would finally meet in a Three Way match for the NWA world heavyweight title at TNA Turning Point 2006, with Abyss retaining the title. After Turning Point however, Sting continued to try to convince Abyss he was nothing but a machine for Mitchell, and he got so far into Abyss that Abyss grabbed Mitchell by the throat, almost chokeslamming him on an edition of iMPACT!, but ultimately convinced himself not to. Since coming back at Bound for Glory, Sting began to wear the same tights again but his facepaint has remained different.

At Final Resolution 2007, Sting faced off against Abyss and Christian Cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship but failed to win back the championship.

On the January 24, 2007 edition of iMPACT!, Sting revealed after going through public records that Abyss shot his own father three times in the back, sending him into a coma. During the ensuing brawl throughout the iMPACT! Zone between Sting and Abyss, James Mitchell burned Sting's face with a Fireball, sending Sting to the hospital. At Against All Odds Sting beat Abyss in a Prison Yard Match. At Destination X in March, Sting defeated Abyss in a Last Rites Match, by locking Abyss into a casket in the ring. The casket was then raised up to the top of the arena.

Wrestling facts

• Finishing and signature moves

• Scorpion Deathlock (Sharpshooter)
• Scorpion Death Drop (Reverse DDT) Occasionally using a scoop lift from the front.
• Stinger Splash (Running high angle corner body splash)
• Single-arm bulldog
• Dropkick
• Diving splash
• Flying crossbody
• Signature foreign object: solid black baseball bat

• Managers

• Eddie Gilbert
• Missy Hyatt

Championships and accomplishments

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Sting, after winning his second NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Bound for Glory on October 22 2006.

• National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA World Television Championship (1 time)
• Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament winner (1988) – with Lex Luger
• NWA Iron Man Tournament winner (1989)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• 1988 Most Improved Wrestler
• 1990 Wrestler of the Year
• 1990 Most Inspirational Wrestler
• 1991 Most Popular Wrestler
• 1991 Match of the Year – with Lex Luger vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) (SuperBrawl, May 19, 1991)
• PWI ranked him # 1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year on the 1992 PWI 500 list
• 1992 Most Popular Wrestler
• 1994 Most Popular Wrestler
• 1997 Most Popular Wrestler
• PWI ranked him # 15 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003
• PWI ranked him # 52 of the 100 best tag teams during the PWI Years in 2003 – with Lex Luger
• 2006 Comeback of the Year

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Universal Wrestling Federation

• UWF Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Eddie Gilbert (2) and Rick Steiner (1)

• World Championship Wrestling

• WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
• WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Kevin Nash (1), Lex Luger (1), and The Giant (1)
• Battle Bowl winner (1991)
• WCW King of Cable Tournament winner (1992)
• WCW European Cup winner (2 times) (1994, 2000)

• World Wrestling All-Stars

• WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• 1988 Most Improved Wrestler
• 1988 Most Charismatic Wrestler
• 1988 Match of the Year – vs. Ric Flair
• 5 Star Match – with Brian Pillman, and The Steiner Brothers vs. Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, Barry Windham and Sid Vicious (WarGames Match, WCW Wrestle War 1991, February 24, 1991)
• 1992 Best Babyface
• 1992 Most Charismatic Wrestler
• 5 Star Match – with Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko (WarGames Match, Wrestle War, February 24, 1992)

Personal life

Borden married Sue in the late 1980s, and the couple had two sons, Garrett and Steven, and a daughter, Gracie. In the late 1990s, the constant traveling that his wrestling career necessitated led Borden to begin drinking heavily and taking analgesics and muscle relaxants. This continued until August 1998, when he became a born-again Christian and ended his substance abuse. Borden went on to become a church deacon, at Church on the Rock of Santa Clarita, and would occasionally appear at religious wrestling shows hosted by fellow Christian wrestlers Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff. Borden has made frequent appearances at Shreveport Community Church (formerly First Assembly of God) based in Shreveport, Louisiana, alongside fellow Christian wrestler Steve "Dr. Death" Williams.

Although billed from Venice Beach, California, Sting and his family actually live in Santa Clarita, California.

Acting career

Sting appeared in the 1998 film The Real Reason (Men Commit Crimes), the 2000 made-for-TNT film Shutterspeed and the 2000 film Ready To Rumble. He has also made guest appearances in several television series, including Thunder in Paradise, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Upright Citizens Brigade, The Nightmare Room, The Nick Cannon Show and MADtv. In 2004, a biographical film entitled Sting: Moment of Truth about Sting's life was released direct-to-video. The scripted film features numerous wrestling personalities, with Sting reprising his role as a seasoned wrestler, and Donnie Fallgatter playing the role of Sting as a rookie wrestler. Sting has also hosted the Trinity Broadcasting Network's flagship program Praise The Lord on three separate occasions. On those programs Vince Russo, Shawn Michaels, and Lex Luger were among his guests.

Media

Books

• Bonham, Chad (2001) Wrestling With God, ISBN 1-58919-935-9
• Sting and King, George (2004) Sting: Moment of Truth, ISBN 1-4041-0211-6

DVDs

• Sting: Moment of Truth
• Sting: Return of an Icon

References

• Photos Of Sting With Grey Hair
• 'Sting' Out of the Ring
• The UWF Tag Team Championship at Wrestling-Titles.com

External links

• TheRealSting.com (Official Website)
• TNA Profile
• Steve Borden at IMDb
• November 2006 Interview with SLAM! Wrestling